MS-Dietetic Internship Program

Augusta University offers only a MS with a dietetic internship (MS-DI). Admission requirements are available here.

The program is 21-months (full-time) and follows the University’s Academic Calendar. The programs begins in Mid-August and ends in May.

Theoretical and clinical experiences in food service management, clinical dietetics, and community nutrition are provided at appropriate facilities participating in the internship program. Interns are based in the College of Allied Health Sciences at Augusta University, an academic health center which includes Augusta University Health and Children’s Hospital of Georgia, the program’s primary rotation sites. Interns have full access to university student learning resources, including world-class research, internationally known visiting clinicians and scholars, the Greenblatt and Reese libraries, computer labs on both the Health Sciences and Summerville campuses, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and more.  

The graduate dietetic program is accredited to accept sixteen (16) graduate student interns each year. Applicants are selected each year on the basis of academic performance, work and volunteer experience in the field, evidence of maturity, interpersonal skills, leadership potential, and self-direction, quality of reference, and compatibility of applicant’s goals with the mission of our program.

Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited university and have completed the ACEND (Didactic program in Dietetics) minimum academic requirements with a valid verification statement by the start of the internship.

Upon successful completion of the internship, the graduates will be eligible to take the registration exam for registered dietitian’s nutritionists (RDN).

Augusta Area Dietetic Internship was transferred from the University Hospital Health Care System to Augusta University in 2015. The program has an outstanding record. For the past five years:

• 100% of the graduate student interns completed the program within 150% of the time allotted for completion of supervised practice hours.
• 100% of the graduate student interns were employed in the field of nutrition and dietetics withim one year of completing the program.  
• 97% of the graduate student interns passed the RDN registration exam within one year of their first attempt.
• 75% of the graduate student interns were successful on their first attempt taking the registration exam.

Other program outcome data is available on request from the Program Director. The program does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, color, race, handicap, or national or ethnic origin in the recruitment or selection of its students, or in the provision of equal access to all services, benefits, and facilities.

The Augusta University MS-Dietetic Internship is sponsored by Augusta University (formerly known as Georgia Regents University). The program is housed on the health science campus, located in downtown Augusta, Georgia – the second largest city in the State. The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACSCOC). The University is one of the four public research universities in the University System of Georgia. There are approximately 8,000 students, 1,600 faculty (instructional and clinical) and 3,500 staff members making our university one of the largest of the employer in the region.

The mission of Augusta University is “to provide leadership and excellence in teaching, discovery, clinical care, and service as a student-centered comprehensive research university and academic health center with a wide range of programs from learning assistance through postdoctoral studies”. The dietetic internship is committed to the university’s mission and captures that wholly by their mission statement “to preparing entry level dietitians by providing applied professional experiences to augment the interns’ theoretical knowledge”. The vision is to “be a top-tier university that is a destination of choice for education, health care, discovery, creativity, and innovation”, with the following values:

• Collegiality – reflected in collaboration, partnership, sense of community, and teamwork.
• Compassion – reflected in caring, empathy, and social responsibility.
• Excellence – reflected in distinction, effectiveness, efficiency, enthusiasm, passion, and quality.
• Inclusivity – reflected in diversity, equality, fairness, impartiality, and respect.
• Integrity – reflected in accountability, ethical behavior, honesty, and reliability.
• Leadership – reflected in courage, honor, professionalism, transparency, and vision.

The member Board of Trustees is appointed by the Governor and they oversee the University System of Georgia. The Board appointed Brooks Keel as the president of Augusta University in 2015. There are nine (9) colleges –Medical College of Georgia, College of Nursing, Katherine Reese Pamplin School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, The Graduate School, College of Science and Mathematics, The Dental College of Georgia, College of Education, College of Allied Health Sciences, and James M. Hull College of Business– each with several academic departments. The medical college is one of the oldest in the nation and the home of the only state dental college. The university is financially stable with an enterprise budget of $1.3 billion and $757.5 million university budget, of which 23.6% is provided by the state of Georgia.

The College of Allied Health Sciences houses the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Department. The Dietetic Internship program and MS in Nutrition are programs within the department. The department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences offers programs of study leading to a Master of Science, Master of Public Health and a Doctorate in Applied Health Sciences. 

Augusta University is an equal opportunity educational institution based on the student’s academic preparation and ability. The admission decisions are made regardless of sex, gender, color, race, national origin, religion, marital status, age, disabilities or creed. The University follows the policy of not engaging in discrimination or harassment against any person regardless of sexual orientation, race, origin, religion, sex, unfavorable discharge from the military, or status as disabled veteran of the Vietnam period and fulfill with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity and regulation.

It is the policy of Augusta University to comply with the Privacy Act of 11974 as well as the Family and Educational Rights. To maintain the student protection of privacy information and the access to files, consent by the intern is required before releasing any information from the intern’s record.

• The Augusta University Dietetic Internship started as a sponsored by the University Health Care System. The program was founded in 1980 and has graduated over 500 dietetic interns since its inception. The dietetic internship is the only program in the Augusta Area and is accredited for sixteen (16) interns. Over many decades the program has maintained full accreditation under the excellent leadership of outstanding nutrition/dietetics professionals. The previous Program Directors includes Donna Martin and Jeanne Lee. Ms. Martin was first Program Director, and now serves as a preceptor for our interns. She served as the President of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics from 2017 – 2018. Ms. Lee is the program’s longest serving Program Director. She was appointed in 1990 and retired in 2015 – 25 years.
• In 2015, the program was transferred from the University Health Care System to Augusta University. Judith Anglin, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, was appointed the Program Director.
• In Spring 2016, the University graduated its first batch of dietetic interns.
• In Fall 2017, the program was accredited as a MS-DI program. 
• In August 2020, Nicole Moore, MS, RDN-AP, LD, was appointed the Program Director.

 

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1917, by a visionary group of women dedicated to helping the government conserve food and improve the public's health and nutrition during World War I. Today, the Academy has over 100,000 credentialed practitioners — registered dietitian nutritionists, dietetic technicians, registered, and other dietetics professionals holding undergraduate and advanced degrees in nutrition and dietetics, and students. The Academy is committed to improving the nation's health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.

Learn more about the Academy

Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics

The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), formerly known as the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) is the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' accrediting agency for education programs preparing students and interns for careers as registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN) or dietetic technicians, registered (DTR). ACEND serves and protects students and the public by assuring the quality and continued improvement of nutrition and dietetics education programs.

Learn more about ACEND

Compliance with Accreditation Standards

The Augusta University MS-Dietetic Internship program is currently granted accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, Ill., 60606, 312-899-4876.

Commission on Dietetic Registration

The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), is the credentialing agency and organization unit of the Academy. The purpose is to serve the public by establishing and enforcing standards for certification, recertification and the Code of Ethics and by issuing credentials to individuals who meet these standards.  The Academy owns the credentials; however CDR has independent authority in matters pertaining to certification, including standard setting, establishment of certification fees and administering credentialing programs. CDR maintains a registry of over 100,000 credentialed dietetics practitioners.

Learn more about the CDR

Credentialing

CDR establishes requirements for eligibility to take the entry-level registration examinations for dietitians and dietetic technicians. Current requirements include academic preparation, supervised practice, and confirmation of academic and practice requirements by verification. These requirements are periodically reviewed and are subject to change.

Academic Degree

Minimum of a Baccalaureate degree granted by a U.S. regionally accredited college/university or foreign equivalent.

Current Minimum Academic Requirements

Completion of an Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD).

Supervised Practice Requirements

All dietetic education programs accredited by ACEND must be in the U.S. or its territories. Supervised practice requirements stipulate completion of one of the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics accredited pathways:

1. Accredited Dietetic Internship Program: Provides for the achievement of performance requirements for entry-level dietitians through a minimum of 1200 hours of supervised practice. The program follows completion of the Didactic Program in Dietetics and a Baccalaureate degree. Some programs may be completed part-time with supervised practice.
2. Accredited Coordinated Program: Academic program in a U.S. regionally accredited college or university culminating in a minimum of a Baccalaureate degree. The program provides for the achievement of knowledge and performance requirements for entry-level dietitians through integration of didactic instruction with a minimum of 1200 hours of supervised practice.
3. Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway (ISPP): In September 2011, the Academy announced the development of Individualized Supervised Practice Pathways or ISPPs ("ispeys") which are intended to add supervised practice capacity through ACEND-accredited dietetics programs, while providing student protections missing from the unaccredited models of the past. This approach provides a framework that can align the availability of supervised practice with demand from DPD students who hold verification statements, thereby laying the foundation for addressing supervised-practice shortages in the future.

The program at Augusta University is an accredited Dietetic Internship Program only.

State Licensure

Forty-six states have enacted legislation regulating the practice of dietetics. State licensure and state certification are entirely separate and distinct from registration or certification by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.

LEARN MORE ABOUT STATE LICENSURE & CERTIFICATION